Quantitative Tissue Characterization in Pediatric Cardiology

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review discusses the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) myocardial tissue characterization techniques and its applications with a focus on pediatric patients. Delayed enhancement CMR (DE-CMR) is well established to detect focal myocardial fibrosis in the clinical setting but has its limitation in detecting diffuse myocardial disease. Newer mapping techniques allow exact assessment of myocardial relaxation times and their changes in various cardiac pathologies.Recent FindingsT1 mapping gives new insights in diffuse myocardial disease in pediatric patients with tetralogy of Fallot. T2 mapping seems to be superior to other CMR parameters for identifying myocarditis. Changes in myocardial T2* in thalassemia major can be detected in childhood suggesting that myocardial damage occurs early in life.SummaryAdvanced CMR mapping techniques underlie a rapid development and enable a noninvasive characterization of the myocardium. Although data for young patients are limited, mapping techniques have the potential to become key imaging tools in pediatric patients.
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - Category: Radiology Source Type: research